Twirls 'n Curls

I saw it.... in the way my nine-year old came up beside her sister during the worship service, circled her arm around her sister's waist, and began singing softly.  I heard it.... she was talking cheerfully to a roomful of preschoolers,  "Okay now, in 5 minutes we're going to clean up, and I need you all to help, ok?"   Two minutes later, with strained politeness, she added: "Let's be sure we're talking nicely to each other, ok?!"  I felt it... at 9:00pm, just after I'd tucked her in, when her eyes flew open in panic, "My spelling! I forgot to to my spelling! Mom, I CAN'T turn it in late. I have to do it NOW!"  I flinched, knowing she came by her perfectionism honestly.  The good, the bad, the sweet, the ugly. My girls are mirror images of me and my parenting, with smatterings of my husband thrown in. The way they speak to each other, take care of each other, and leave trails of discarded activities behind so...

So young... and so clueless! Order. Efficiency. Productivity.  These are words I'd use to describe my life... before kids. Back when I crammed 4 years of college into 3 years, or worked 40 hours a week plus spent 20 hours each weekend helping start a church in Los Angeles. I was stretched. I was exhausted. And I loved it. Just before we had our first child, my husband took a job as the senior pastor of a small, rural church, and I stepped down from my job in a busy office to be home with the baby and help him at the church. I’d read some books on motherhood to prepare myself, but all in all, I wasn’t too worried. I mean, I’d been taking care of executives for quite a few years by that point. Their needs are much more complex than a tiny baby’s.  How hard could this be, really?   As it turned out, much harder than anything I’d ever done.  What I remember the most about those early days was the overwhelming frustration of not being able to get anything ...

People often ask me what it's like raising 4 girls so close in age, especially working full time. I always mention a lot of emotions, a lot of fun memories, and a little bit of crazy. A few months ago, on a particularly hectic Thursday, I decided to chronologize a few of the events, to give you a glimpse into my life:   Wednesday 11:50pm - Finally decide to call it quits on turning 300 chopsticks into wands in time for the Harry Potter-themed dance on Friday at my kids' school. Thursday 6:50am - Hit snooze again on my alarm and realize I have lost any potential morning time sans kids by choosing to decorate said chopsticks until midnight. 6:57 - Roll out of bed to wake up the kids. On the way to their room, note that my oldest, Linsey, is sitting in a yoga pose on the bathroom counter, doing her makeup. 6:58 - Turn on shower to get warm because It. Takes. Forever. 7:01 -  Weigh myself and vow to do better than the takeout I had yesterday. 7:02 - Check on kids...